Father's Day

Big John

I was thinking about Dad this week, not because of Father's Day specifically.
At work I have a dry erase board by my desk where we do a question of the day kind of thing, but mostly it's movie trivia. And in honor of Gene Wilder having his 79th birthday the day before, I put up a quote from Silver Streak.
Gene was born the same year as dad, and I have a very vivid memory from going to see that movie in the theater. Sitting next to Dad and him laughing so loud when Gene gets thrown off the train and saying his line "Son of a *!%#?". And I remember thinking that it didn't feel like the fact that I was sitting next to him that he sounded like he was laughing louder than anyone else there, it seemed like he really was laughing the loudest. His smile like you see him above, and that laugh are how I remember him best. And maybe not everyone appreciates it (it's not very ladylike), but I inherited his laugh. And his love of a good movie now that I think of it.

I don't remember exactly what year it was, but someone very smart at the Pike's Place Market in Seattle came up with a marketing idea to help pay for a new floor, by selling ceramic tiles that the public could purchase, and have made with someone's name on it. My brother Mark and I bought a tile for Dad for Father's Day that year. And the next time he came out to visit we went to the market and found his tile. He took a picture of it framed by his own tennis-shoe clad feet.

It goes without saying that I miss him. Thank you for everything Dad ♥